


Spark and Frame

by FourthFloorWrites



Category: The Transformers (IDW Generation One), Transformers - All Media Types
Genre: Homemade Zine, M/M, Pre-Relationship, Symbiosis AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-12
Updated: 2021-01-12
Packaged: 2021-03-17 03:15:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,330
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28717911
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FourthFloorWrites/pseuds/FourthFloorWrites
Summary: Everyone knows a Cybertronian is two distinct beings, a crystalline supercomputer Spark and a metallic mechanical Frame; each requires the other to live a full life. Of course Tailgate finds himself stuck with a Frame who doesn't believe it.
Relationships: Cyclonus/Tailgate (Transformers)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 15





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is the fic I wrote for the Transformers Homemade AU Zine! It's a retelling of early MTMTE using the worldbuilding of my Symbiosis AU. The second chapter is all of the notes I had for the AU, which is based on a hodgepodge of continuities. I lost the motivation to write the fic, but I didn't want the ideas to languish in my drafts folder forever, so I'm publishing them as is.

Tailgate was used to being overwhelmed.

[[Okay, okay okay okay  _ not okay. _ ]]

But this was still a bit much.

The Spark checked his permissions and choked a plasmic flare. There was  _ so much here _ . A densely-packed sensor suite with motor controls for functions he’d never even heard of before, memory banks packed with more data than he thought there was history in the world. The files within revealed battle plans, expeditions, and safety protocols, backups of backups netted together in a tagging system that was intimidating to look through as the memories themselves. He shut the folder, but in its place another program booted up. He recognized the basic architecture of a Frame’s consciousness, but it was so much more complex than Camero’s that he did not even know where to address it.

[[Sorry, sorry, was that yours?]] he sent to what seemed like an input. [[I didn’t mean to go digging, but—sorry, who are you?]] He could access the Frame’s ident codes, but not read them, and he could not figure out whether it was a problem with permissions or mismatched software.

The Frame regarded him; he felt the familiar tingle as his own files were opened and read, his own code like a user guide compared to the other. And then he was cut off, firewalls snapping into place so he no longer even knew whether he was being watched. The overload of information emptied into a dearth, and Tailgate found himself in darkness, his own thoughts the loudest thing around him.

[[ _ Hello? _ ]] He prodded out into the void, but all he found were walls. Sensor suite, mechanics, and autonomic systems all shut off from access. His own crystalline network was still online, but every molecular connection had been cut off, blocking him off from the Frame. He did not know whether a Frame could survive complete disconnect, and even though this one had been incredibly rude so far, he was worried. Were they alright? How were they maintaining homeostasis without him? He prodded along the firewalls, seeking any gap or purchase.

[[Are you alright?]] he sent out, receiving only error messages in response. He searched his entire network for any gap, a nick in the armor, and started to pulse with panic, his messages replaced with strings of gibberish.

A sudden calm washed over him. He startled, thinking he had been granted access again, but settled as he recognized the comforting presence of another Spark’s field.

::Calm down, kid,:: it said. ::Stop panicking. You’re safe.::

::Who are you? What’s going on?:: He stretched his field out, trying to use his telemetry to glean the sensory information this Frame was denying him, distance from the other Spark his greatest concern.

::You’ve been installed in Cyclonus of Upper Tetrahex,:: he said, likely from within the same room. His field was large and vibrant, but with the intense concentration that suggested its source was nearby. ::Both of you were recently separated from your former partners and were on the verge of failure. I performed an emergency installation to stabilize you both.:: A few files Tailgate couldn’t read were passed along the connection. ::My name is Ratchet. I’m the CMO onboard.::

::Oh. Oh! So I made it?:: That was an unexpected bit of good news amidst all the confusion. ::After Camero fell down that shaft, I wasn’t sure if we would—if he—::

Oh.

Right, that was what had happened to his old Frame.

Shoot.

::Have we made it to the Benzuli expanse?:: he asked instead of thinking about that too much.

::Benzuli?:: Ratchet repeated. ::Kid, where do you think—::

[[There has been a mix up.]]

The firewalls were lifted and Tailgate’s world bloomed. He latched onto the sensor suite and was greeted with an image of hard lines and bright colors, a mess of equipment he did not recognize. Internal gyros indicated Cyclonus was lying on his back, facing the ceiling, and from a hatch above them protruded an assortment of mechanical arms. Most were folded back in standby now, but several had extended down to hover over Cyclonus. Sensors, Tailgate guessed, though he had never been in a doctor’s office before.

“—got your vitals back to a reasonable state, and now you’re pulling this kind of scrap?” someone was saying via vocalizer. Tailgate guessed that it must have been Ratchet’s Frame, given the way his EM field fluctuated in time with the spoken words.

“I’ve reestablished the Spark’s sensory permissions. He can hear you now.”

“Oh. Apologies, Tailgate.”

The voice was coming from directly above them, a speaker hidden somewhere in the nest of medical equipment. Tailgate peered up at it through Cyclonus’ optics, trying to make sense of who was speaking. The EM field brushed him again.

::Just me,:: Ratchet said. ::I’ve got a voice all to myself.::

“Oh, you’re a—”

His connection to Cyclonus’ vocalizer was cut off.

“A what?”

“A drone,” Cyclonus finished for him.

::Yes,:: Ratchet said. The cool touch of his EM field turned prickly. Tailgate started to withdraw, but the loneliness of the isolated office was worse, so he stuck close and weathered it.

::No Frame?:: Tailgate asked. He preferred using a vocalizer for communication, but he supposed it did not matter much if Cyclonus was the only Frame in the room. It certainly was not worth the effort of prodding at his firewalls again.

::No, I’ve got a Frame; it’s just non-sentient,:: Ratchet said. Two more arms descended from the ceiling and made gestures outward. ::My Spark chamber was constructed as part of the medbay. Anything you see plugged in is connected back to me.::

::That’s what I thought,:: Tailgate said, though he had never known a Spark powerful enough to sustain that many delicate systems. ::In Iacon, we just called them—::

[[That’s no longer appropriate terminology,]] Cyclonus said. Tailgate was not sure whether he had accidentally been transcribing the EM dialogue for his Frame, or something in Cyclonus’ systems allowed him to listen in on his own. 

[[Oh, sure.]] Surprising, but Tailgate resolved not to use that word anymore. Cybertronian culture was always evolving, and maybe no one had told Camero. He went back to exploring their sensory suite, marveling at the size of Cyclonus’ frame and trying to map the mechanics to his own network, even if still lacked permissions to use them.

“Ratchet,” Cyclonus said, “I appreciate the time you have taken to ensure my health, but I have a proven ability to function without a Spark, and this one requires more guidance than I can provide.”

[[ _ What. _ ]] Tailgate tried to dig through Cyclonus’ specs to find out if that was true, but was again inundated with data he did not know how to read.

“ _ Guidance? _ ” Ratchet repeated. “Frag’s sake, Cyclonus, he’s a little shaken up, not a new harvest. He’s older than me.”

“Yes, I know,” Cyclonus said. “And yet, he’s used less than a hundredth of a percent of his data storage.”

The medical instruments froze, pointed at the pair like staring optics.

::Sorry,  _ what _ ship did you say this was?:: Tailgate asked.

Once they got Tailgate stabilized and settled with the idea that he had been in stasis while the rest of his species engaged in a galaxy altering civil war, things were not so bad. As soon as he stepped out of the medbay’s isolation field, he was surrounded by Sparks, more than he had ever felt in one place before, all pulsing and dizzy with anticipation for their quest (so much so that it took a couple days before Tailgate was certain the quest had a goal, and was not just a thin excuse for them all to get overcharged and well away from their planet).

Adapting to the new environment would have been easier if he had a Frame whose default responses consisted of [[No,]] and judgemental silence, but he could be grateful just to have a body and not be confined to a stabilizer pod. That was the deal Cyclonus had reached with their captains: he was allowed his place on the ship so long as he provided a place for Tailgate to live, until they came up with something better. Although he still was not allowed access to motor controls, Cyclonus let him stay plugged into his sensory suite, through which he got to see and hear the constant chaos that was the  _ Lost Light _ . It was incredible. It was exciting. He was  _ in space _ .

In space, where no one had to know he had been harvested and immediately plugged into a waste disposal bot, from a world that had destroyed most of its pre-war records. When he casually slipped in a story about traveling with the Primal Vanguard, no one batted an optic or flipped a field. They were already almost tripping over war heroes, what was one more?

::It’s so interesting to hear about what our world was like from someone who didn’t have to live through the war,:: Rewind said. Cyclonus refused to socialize with the other Frames, but he would walk around the common spaces, giving Tailgate a chance to reach out and tangle his field with the other Sparks.

::Still, can’t believe Ratchet plugged you into a Decepticon,:: Swerve said. ::I think I’d gutter on the spot if they did that to me.:: Because Cyclonus insisted on looking out the window and rarely to the crowd, it was hard for Tailgate to pinpoint where his friends were. He knew Swerve was further away than the others, on account of the way his field occasionally faded and came back, the odd glyph corrupted by distance.

::Command agreed to let him stay onboard, so he can’t be  _ that _ bad,:: Chromedome argued.

::I don’t know, Rodimus wasn’t exactly discerning when he was taking applications,:: Rewind said.

Tailgate leaned into the friendly fields. He and Camero had a few coworkers they would work with from time to time, but not often enough to establish anything beyond cordial acceptance of each other, and they hadn’t gone out enough for Tailgate to make friends in the community. It was so different here, to get to reach out almost any time and be met with other Sparks. He hoped they liked him.

::I’m glad I was let on without filling one out,:: he said. ::I don’t know what I would have put for my function.::

[[Are you lying to them?]]

Tailgate’s processes froze. He hadn’t thought Cyclonus would care enough to listen in.

::Bots stopped identifying themselves by a sole function around the beginning of the war,:: Rewind said, missing the pause. ::It’s more appropriate to say what you job is, instead. Perceptor and I are a researcher, for example.::

::What kind of research?:: Tailgate asked, grateful for the change of subject. He felt like Cyclonus’ internal voice was still echoing in his Spark chamber.

The conversation moved into the projects Rewind and Chromedome were working on with their Frames, when Swerve made a quick, polite interruption.

::Uh-oh.::

And then his signal dropped.

::What’s that?:: Tailgate asked. ::What’s uh-oh?::

::No idea,:: Chromedome said. ::Gonna go check on the lab, just to be safe. Got to make sure none of Brainstorm’s experiments have breached.::

::Aren’t they your experiments, too?::

::When they’re on the loose and causing trouble, they’re all his.::

The onboard livespeaker’s crackled while at the same time, the wash of the ship’s broadcast field fell over them.

“Attention crewmates.” Tailgate recognizes Drift’s voice and Rodimus’ field, their words spoken in sync to get as much attention as possible. “There has been a bit of an incident on the lower deck.”

Chromedome, Rewind, and their Frames were called away, while Tailgate and Cyclonus got lumped into the general order to head to the hab suites. Cyclonus joined the crowd and walked down to the habitation level. Tailgate considered each of the rooms they passed, plugging in the few variables he could see and trying to calculate which one would be best. When Cyclonus was on the move, he liked to find ways to be useful, even if he was shut out of most standard systems. In this case, emptiness was a high value factor, of course, but he also took into account how aesthetically pleasing the room number was and the probability they would have a window that looked out onto more than another wing of the ship.

[[Oh, that’s the one!]] he decided when one of his calculations came back with a rating of 87.4. Cyclonus didn’t say anything, just ducked into the room and let the door close behind them.

[[Yep, this will do nicely!]] Tailgate said. [[Oh, look, there’s even a recharging dock,  _ fancy _ .]]

The mental block was sudden and, in Tailgate’s opinion, unnecessarily harsh. Cyclonus didn’t go so far as to shut off his senses this time, which was something of a blessing, but communication had been cut off.

Cyclonus walked further in and reengaged in what seemed to be his favorite activity: staring out the window. It was a pretty view, sure, and Tailgate could appreciate some tranquility, but it was all he ever seemed to do. Did he have any friends? He wouldn’t let Tailgate access their comm suite, so it was possible he was chatting up a storm with half the ship. Tailgate sincerely doubted it, though.

He didn’t miss his old Frame. He and Camero had gotten along fine, and Camero had been a patient mentor and partner, but Tailgate wasn’t sure if they had become friends in the short time they had known each other. They had still made an effort, though, even if it was just idly pointing out the features of Cybertron as they drove to their next job, its glistening towers and sweeping metal landscapes. He could just picture the views Camero had allowed him to glimpse, the distant sparkles of orbiting ships—

Cyclonus startled back, away from the window.

“How did you do that?” he demanded.

[[Do what?]] Tailgate pinged, to an error message. Cyclonus still had their internal comm network blocked.

“I  _ saw _ Cybertron,” Cyclonus said. “As it was, the way we left it. How did you bring it back?” There was a fumbling feeling, and the link was reestablished.

[[Don’t know, this is all I did.]]

He pictured it again: the wide streets, the crowds of diverse bots, the smell of metal and exhaust floating on the wind. The landscape opened up around them, a perfect recreation of Iacon as Tailgate had once seen it. Surfaces gleamed, some more than others, or else were overgrown with a healthy patina. Every corner shimmered with movement as the living city went about its day: utterly mundane and so remarkable.

Cyclonus and Tailgate stood on the edge of it, looking out from the highway. This was the closest Tailgate had gotten, but Cyclonus didn’t seem disappointed.

His storage might have been pretty empty, but what he did have was in nearly pristine condition. Four million years had not managed to take that away.

[[It’s beautiful,]] Cyclonus said.

[[It is,]] Tailgate agreed. And though there was still little in the way of conversation, he started to think that perhaps this partnership could work out.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These notes are very incomplete! I was in the process of working out the origins of the Autobot-Decepticon war when I lost steam, so it's still very "Autobots good, Decepticons bad" territory.

Frames and sparks are two species who share a mutually beneficial symbiotic relationship: when paired together, frames are abel to access higher cortical functions and transformations, while sparks are given a means by which to interact with the greater world. In spite of the unique take on Cybertronian biology, the Autobot-Decepticon war still rages, Transformers still struggling to work together even when cooperation is the basis of their society.

  * The Matrix in this universe functions as a symbol of perfect symbiosis: one entity that composes its own body and soul. Its integration into Optimus’ chest actually breaks the Matrix’s frame, and as a result it is unable to be removed, becoming permanently lodged in the place where he should have a spark and preventing him from taking another partner after Megatron’s betrayal.
  * Conjunx endura are legally recognized as two Transformers (spark with spark, frame with frame), though nonlegal partnerships are very common.
  * “One shall stand, or two shall fall.”
  * Decepticon xenophobia and genocide is portrayed through the gradual spread of drone use throughout the army, phasing out frames as redundant. This is an unintended consequence, one Megatron refuses to right even after it is brought to his attention.
  * The Prime is a singular entity made up of the Light of Primus and the Hand of Unicron. Though traditionally a spark and frame respectively, Optimus and Megatron prove that this is not a hard rule. Furthermore, Primacy can only be granted on a full Transformer: after Megatron’s betrayal, neither Cybertronian can be considered a Prime.
  * Naming conventions are different between species. Frames are known as NAME of CITY, depending on the factory they originated from (Bumblebee of Iacon, Wheeljack of Ultirex, etc.), whereas spark names are derived from the [shape](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyhedron) of the [crystal](https://australianmuseum.net.au/learn/minerals/what-are-minerals/crystal-shapes/) and ???
  * Watch more Basics videos to get non-IDW ideas



  
  


### Technobiology

Before entering standby, Primus completed his integration into Unicron’s systems, completely rerouting the planet’s motor controls and leaving several functions trapped in preprogrammed routines. Cybertronians use several of these constant cycles to measure the passage of time, since they do not have a sun to base such calculations on.

Efforts have been made to explore the inner workings of the drone factories, but success remains limited due to the delicate nature of the machinery and lack of access routes; one catastrophic exploration failure led to the loss of an entire factory, and so further study has been very carefully regulated. Construction mechanisms remain mostly unknown, the most mysterious being the creation of the brain module, which most researchers believe to be the first step in the creation of a frame, and therefore the deepest within the planet. The factories are almost entirely vertical: new pieces are added as the frame moves upward, coordinated through unknown means to appropriately construct each unique frametype.

Using Unicron’s original design, frames were fully independent when they were finally complete and deposited on the surface, but in the modern day they struggle somewhat with higher functions and transformation. This is Primus’ intervention: by interrupting the construction process in its early stages and then occasionally intervening at odd points throughout, he was able to make frames more reliant on the high processing power of photonic shards. Because the intervention differs somewhat between locations, frames from different factories will have different requirements for their sparks.

Cybertronians have been constructing frames for millenia, since the rate of spark ignition started to outpace Unicron’s construction abilities. The technology has not been perfected yet, though, so constructed frames are more heavily reliant on their sparks for basic survival functions.

The disagreement over drones, frames that have such limited processing power they are essentially brain dead, is rooted in the fact that many Cybertronians still see them as people, slaves to the sparks they’ve been built for.

Sparks are charged shards of photonic crystal with the ability to interface and send information along non-charged crystalline networks. Combined rotations of multiple sparks can jumpstart an inactive shard, its coding partially derived from each of the contributors.

Though unable to defend themselves, sparks are slightly more resilient than frames, able to survive several years without a bond. There are two exceptions that must be kept in mind when handling unbonded sparks: impact of sufficient force can crack the photonic crystal, corrupting their coding, or shatter it entirely, and strong radiation can fully wipe the data from an unprotected spark. Furthermore, without an active source of energon to sustain them, sparks will quickly enter stasis. Sparks are also not immortal; except in exceptional circumstances, they will eventually lose their charge and go out. It is possible to reignite a spark, but the new charge will result in a new identity.

Outlier sparks are crystals of unusual shape that have additional coding to allow them to operate systems beyond the basic frame mechanics. Due to the random nature of crystal mining, outliers are not altogether uncommon, but it can be difficult to determine what the abilities of the outlier are since the hardware has to be based on the code.

Sparks can communicate with one another via complex EM fields which are capable of projecting thoughts, emotions, and limited quantities of audio and visual data. Frame technology currently does not provide a means to receive these signals, but it is customary for sparks to automatically translate them into processor-friendly data. Of course, there is no way for a frame to know if any information has been left out or ignored.

Transformers in all continuities are a very social species, but Sparks take it even further, being unable to function when left alone for too long. There is the obvious need for connection with a frame in order to interact with and remember their world, but spark to spark interaction is just as important and kept up just as frequently, through the use of long range EM fields.

### Events

  * Ancient
    * Unicron is created; all records of his construction are lost
    * Unicron wreaks terror across the universe, wiping out entire civilizations
    * The parasitic cloud of photonic crystal shards known as Primus embeds itself in Unicron’s systems, gaining control over his body
    * Shockwave survives the culling of original drones and makes himself appear to be under Primus’ control.
    * Primus modifies Unicron for his own needs, including drone production, inserting crystal shards directly into the fabrication process and making them reliant on each other
    * After billions of years, Unicron comes back online. The resulting battle of wills knocks both into standby. Shards disconnected from Primus remain online and gain independence.
    * Sparks and frames, now cut off from their masters, begin developing Cybertronian society.
    * Development continues for millions of years. Cities are built, governments created, technology improved. Transformers become a spacefaring civilization and set up contacts with other planets. The usual societal contention remains, but in general sparks and frames are able to work together.
    * Legend shapes Primus and Unicron as collaborators who retreated to darkness when their creations refused to work together.
  * Pre-war
    * Megatron is found, discarded among garbage, by Soundwave, with no memory of his former life. He begins assisting with Soundwave’s sheltering efforts and sees the way interdependency harms both frames and sparks.
    * Perceptor breaks off his bond with Starscream with little warning. Skyfire is hired as his new assistant, but takes a shine to the spark and they bond.
    * Ratchet and Wheeljack work together to build the first fully-constructed frames, a group who come to be known as the Dinobots.
    * Shockwave reaches out to soon-to-be appointed Prime Megatron with his drone production research (several million years in the making, though he does not admit such).
    * A new Prime is chosen, the bond between the Light of Primus, Orion Pax, scholar and researcher, and the Hand of Unicron, Megatronus, a caretaker for unbonded Cybertronians. They become Optimus and Megatron.
    * Megatron begins launching offworld conquests to secretly gather materials for his drone initiative. Optimus does not approve.
    * Skyfire (reluctantly) and Starscream become Megatron’s advisor.
    * A century later, Megatron betrays Optimus, ripping himself from their chest and inserting himself in a constructed drone. He leaves Optimus for dead.
    * Optimus, dying, comes upon the Matrix, which acts as a replacement spark. However, due to the damage to his spark chamber, he’s unable to remove it, permanently bonding him to the artifact.
  * First Phase
    * Optimus rises from the dead, gathering his supporters. He rallies his new army, named the Autobots, to win back the capital city, officially proclaiming war on Megatron and his Decepticons.
    * Skyfire and Starscream take part in the first battle, but Skyfire finally decides he can’t do it and refuses to help further. Starscream abandons him and Skyfire is taken in by the Autobots, who bond him with Prowl.
    * Civilian spark Cliffjumper is extinguished during a Decepticon attack. His frame, Bumblebee, is found by Optimus, who uses the Matrix to ignite a new spark, Rodimus, who bonds to Bumblebee and assists in his evacuation. Bumblebee and Rodimus pledge allegiance to the Autobots.
    * Skywarp is extinguished, but new technology is able to bring him back, albeit without his memories.
    * First phase ends when the Decepticons leak a poisonous code into the global crystal network that causes it first to convulse, spreading deeper into the seams of the metal planet, and then disintegrate, loosening the pieces from each other. 
    * Cybertron breaks apart, Rung and Shockwave looking on together.
  * Second Phase
    * Chunks of the planet drift away from each other. On larger pieces, fighting continues, while individuals trapped on smaller ones start considering ceasefires.
    * Skyfire and Prowl are captured and split up.
    * Skyfire is found by Starscream, who relents and rebonds himself to his old frame. They escape together.
    * Prowl is forced into a bond with Shockwave.
  * Unknown
    * Optimus and Megatron reunite. They are unable to ever bond again, but they take peace in being together, even temporarily, realizing that an entire war has been unable to change their feelings for each other.
    * Deadlock is abandoned by his spark, Turmoil, but is found by the Circle of Light and bonded to Wing, resulting in his defection from the Decepticons.
    * Prowl is rescued by Sideswipe and Sunstreaker and bonded to a Decepticon-manufactured drone.



### Characters

Autobots:

  * Frames 
    * Orion Pax | Optimus Prime | Optimus (Elita-1, Megatron Prime, Matrix/unbonded) 
      * Orion was pulled from his role as a scholar after being chosen as the Light of the new Prime. He became Optimus and was bonded with Megatron, a powerful spark of incredible processing power. The two struggled in their new partnership at first, but were soon using their combined strengths for the betterment of Cybertron.
      * Megatron betrayed Optimus, ripping himself out of their spark chamber and leaving the Prime to die. He is thrown away; among the garbage of their world, he comes upon the Matrix, which directs him to insert it into his broken spark chamber. Optimus is revived and heads to the surface to regroup with those who remain loyal to him. The Cybertronian Civil War begins.
      * Was originally very content to just do as he was told and let events play out. After Megatron’s betrayal, he was forced into the realization his inaction could directly be blamed for the way things worked out, and has since made an active effort to fix things.
      * At some point, Roller dies and Ratchet is in need of a new frame. Optimus is able to offer him a temporary refuge, but not a true bond
    * Windblade (Elita-1) 
      * Very young frame who ends up playing a major role in the Autobots due to her spark.
    * Bumblebee (Cliffjumper, Rodimus) 
      * Lived a happy if chaotic life with Cliffjumper before the war. He was caught in the blast radius of a Decepticon attack that shattered his original spark and left him helpless. Optimus saved him by giving him a brand new spark, Rodimus, and Bumblebee immediately swore they would do anything they could to help the Autobot cause. Since then, his relationship with Rodimus has proved strenuous, but their different methods are always intended to work toward the same ideals and they find ways to make it work.
    * Jazz (rotating Mirage, Hound, Hubcap, Skids, Trailbreaker, Windcharger, etc.) 
      * Older than most folks realize. Frequently trades out outlier sparks to give him the constant element of surprise. Works because he’s charming and easy to bond with, though most find long-term connection a challenge.
    * Ironhide (Red Alert) 
      * Definitely absolutely has feelings for Optimus, but knows he doesn’t have a chance. Still a good friend.
    * Springer (Prowl, Kup & Impactor) 
      * The first full independent Transformer. Unlike Spark-piloted drones, Springer’s crystalline network was designed in conjunction with his mechanics: they are fully connected and inseparable.
      * Partnered with Prowl until it was realized he needed two sparks as a triple changer.
    * Wheeljack (Ratchet) 
      * Has balance issues that his last spark spent significant processor power correcting. One of Ratchet’s requirements for bonding was that he install the helmfins so he would be able to do it on his own.
      * Constructed the Dinobots with Ratchet as part of ongoing research into frame fabrication; has since developed a caretaker relationship with them.
    * Blurr (Swindle) 
      * Partnered before the war and didn’t want factions to break them apart. Works as a secret operative for both sides, taking assignments based on what will work in his best interests.
    * Drift | Deadlock (Turmoil, Wing, Ratchet) 
      * Always plagued by indecision over whether he was in control as Deadlock. Nearly dies after losing Wing, but finds an unexpected ally in Ratchet.
    * Brainstorm (Chromedome) 
      * Knew Chromedome before their bond, but really agreed to it as a way to get closer to Perceptor. Has actually turned out pretty well for him.
    * Perceptor (Starscream, Rewind)
    * Arcee (Bulkhead)
    * Grimlock (First Aid, Prowl, Whirl, First Aid, ???, First Aid) 
      * Insubordinate from the beginning and eager to prove himself, Grimlock was bonded to Prowl out of the misguided hope that the older spark would be able to reign in some of his violent tendencies. Instead, Grimlock felt encouraged, coming to see sparks as challengers to be faced, making him an infamously difficult frame to be bonded with.
      * Like all the Dinobots, his dinosaur form is actually his root mode, and his bipedal form is his alt mode. This is to make up for the fact that there were not many ambulatory alt-mode sparks available when the Dinobots came online.
    * Slag (Knock Out, Groove) 
      * Usually pissed off and ready to fight his spark from the beginning. Unlike Grimlock, he doesn’t need a purpose for violence, just an outlet.
    * Swoop (Skywarp, Blades) 
      * Loves two things: flying and friendship. Skywarp tries to get him to also join the Decepticons, but makes sure he’s left somewhere safe when they part ways.
    * Sludge (Bluestreak) 
      * The only one of the Dinobots to retain his original spark after the war starts.
    * Snarl (Swerve, Siren) 
      * Leaves most of the talking to his spark.
    * Hoist (Swerve) 
      * Just trying to do his job. Doesn’t want to talk about his ex-partner.
    * Skyfire (Skywarp, Starscream, Prowl, Starscream) 
      * Broke up with Starscream at the start of the war and partnered with Prowl for lack of anyone better. Eventually gets captured, split, and nearly dies before Starscream rejoins him.
    * Sunstreaker (Sideswipe) 
      * Scientists still don’t know exactly how it happened, but the popular theory is that Sunstreaker’s construction was delayed, allowing his crystalline network to grow larger than usual and generate a charge. As a result, he is inseparable from his spark, Sideswipe. He’s pretty sure Sides is the only Cybertronian who would bother putting up with him, though, so he’s not upset about it.
    * Chromia (Greenlight)
    * Pharma (First Aid, Tarn)
    * Mainframe (Swerve)
    * Hot Spot (First Aid)
    * Blaster (Cassettes) 
      * Has an enlarged spark chamber, capable of holding multiple sparks. Modded himself later to have a radio link to drone frames, controlled by the non-dominant sparks.
    * Ultra Magnus
  * Sparks 
    * Elita-1 (Orion, Windblade) 
      * Would have been happy to stay with Orion if he hadn’t accepted the Primacy. Now gets to enjoy introducing young Windblade to the world, and also pursue her relationship with Greenlight.
    * Rodimus (Bumblebee) 
      * Outlier with the ability to spontaneously ignite the air around his frame.
      * Ignited directly by the Matrix in a last ditch effort by Optimus to save Bumblebee’s life. Most Cybertronians who know of his origins assume the Matrix bestowed him with outlier abilities, and he’s more than happy to let them.
    * Prowl (Mesothulas, Grimlock, Springer, Skyfire, Shockwave, drone) 
      * Due to a series of events involving a triple changer, a last-minute symbiosis, a kidnapping, and a rescue, ends up in possession of the Autobots' first drone Frame.
    * Ratchet (Wheeljack, Drift) 
      * Outlier with a gift for surgery and medical procedures. The greatest frame surgeon ever ignited, but often doubted due to not having hands of his own.
    * Mirage (Jazz) 
      * An outlier capable of invisibility.
    * Red Alert (Ironhide)
    * Kup (Springer) 
      * Maintains Springer’s car alt-mode.
    * Impactor (Springer) 
      * Maintains Springer’s helicopter alt-mode.
    * Chromedome (Brainstorm)
    * Rewind (Perceptor) 
      * Outlier capable of massively increasing his frame’s storage capacity and calculation speed.
    * Swerve (Mainframe, Snarl, Hoist) 
      * Is on his seventh frame. Falls hard for a Decepticon spark he sees twinkling on the other side of a battlefield.
    * Bulkhead (Arcee) 
      * Sometimes feels cramped within his frame, but otherwise has a good symbiosis.
    * First Aid (Pharma, Grimlock, Hot Spot, Grimlock) 
      * I don’t know where this is going but it just happened to work. Probably not permanent??
    * Whirl (Grimlock) 
      * Briefly bonded to Grimlock before everyone realized this was an Exceptionally Bad idea.
    * Greenlight (Chromia)
    * Sideswipe (Sunstreaker) 
      * Is actually a heavy crystalline network that gained a charge and became inseparable from his frame, Sunstreaker. Sometimes resents his unique construction, but also wouldn’t give up his bond for anything.
    * Aerialbots (Dinobots) 
      * Ignited for the war, specifically to spark the Dinobots while allowing their existing sparks to disperse to more strategic bonds.
    * Bluestreak (Sludge)
    * Siren (Snarl)
    * Blaster’s cassettes



Decepticons:

  * Frames
    * Soundwave (Megatron, rotates Cassettes but usually Ravage)
      * A mistake in the production process resulted in him gaining an overly large spark chamber capable of hosting multiple sparks. It’s a feature he’s built on since, modding himself to increase capacity. He uses it whenever he has more sparks on hand than frames.
      * A tinkerer and collector, his main goal in life is to look after frames and sparks that have been deemed undesirable by the rest of society. He has a small shelter running when he first finds Megatron, and together they are able to build the operation into something more substantial.
    * Rumble (Frenzy)
    * Buzzsaw (Lazerbeak)
    * Nickel (Tarn)
    * Shockwave (Knock Out, Prowl)
      * The last surviving drone from pre-Primus Unicron. Has survived the ages by pretending to bow to the wills of his sparks, while gradually working to his old master’s goal of chaos and death.
      * Gains Megatron’s trust by developing modern drone technology. Everyone thinks he’s in it to create sparkless technology for frames.
      * Stands watch over the destruction of Cybertron with Rung at his side. Neither of them will have anything to live for once the planet is gone, so they do not try to flee the blast.
    * Scrapper (alternating Constructicons)
    * Blitzwing (Vortex & Brawl)
    * Astrotrain (Blast Off & Onslaught, two unlucky Autobots)
      * Is abandoned by his sparks and has no choice but to go to the Autobots for help.
    * Fulcrum (Misfire)
      * Absolutely does not want to get caught in the cross-faction romance he is currently being dragged into.
    * Breakdown (Dirge, Knock Out)
  * Sparks
    * Megatronus | Megatron Prime | Megatron (Soundwave, Buzzsaw, Optimus Prime, drone)
      * Believes neither frames nor sparks should have to rely on each other for survival.
    * Starscream (Perceptor, Skyfire, drone, Skyfire)
      * His commitment to the Decepticon cause immediately followed a bad break up with his long time symbiont. Has to rethink all of his plans after rejoining him.
    * Skywarp (Skyfire, Swoop, drone)
      * An outlier capable of teleportation.
      * Dies in the war. New technology is able to bring him back, but the new charge is essentially a new person, which his trine struggles to come to terms with.
    * Thundercracker (drone)
    * Frenzy (Rumble)
    * Lazerbeak (Buzzsaw)
      * Ignited following Megatron’s ascension to LHP.
    * Ravage (Soundwave)
      * Soundwave’s preferred spark.
    * Tarn (Pharma, Nickel)
      * Outlier with the ability to manipulate technology.
      * Took on Nickel as a means to promote wellness within the DJD.
    * Swindle (Blurr)
      * Couldn’t choose between the Combaticons and Blurr, so he’s made a place somewhere in the middle. Usually causes trouble.
    * Knock Out (Slag, Shockwave, Breakdown)
      * Decepticon medic/engineer who worked with his symbiont to develop drone technology. Was cast out when he fell in love with Breakdown and started questioning their ideology.
    * Misfire (Fulcrum)
      * Doesn’t know why an Autobot spark is trying to get in contact with him, but just goes with it.
    * Constructicons (Scrapper & drones)
      * Five sparks who take turns rotating between one true frame and a set of combiner-capable drones.
    * Motormaster (drone)
    * Wildrider (drone)
    * Breakdown (drone)
    * Dead End (drone)
    * Brawl (Astrotrain)
    * Blast Off (Astrotrain)
    * Vortex (Blitzwing)
    * Onslaught (Blitzwing)
    * Dirge (Breakdown, drone)
    * Turmoil (Deadlock, Metalhawk)
      * Powerful spark who assumes complete control over his frame. Reformats Metalhawk to look the way Turmoil would envision himself as a frame.



Other

  * Frames 
    * Metalhawk (unnamed Dabola victim, Turmoil) 
      * Currently trapped as an unwitting Decepticon frame, unable to seek help due to Turmoil’s control.
    * Roller (Ratchet) 
      * Passed away before the war started; would have been an Autobot.
    * Gasket (unnamed Dead End spark) 
      * Died before the war.
    * Mesothulas | Tarantulas (Prowl)
  * Sparks 
    * Wing (Drift)
    * Dominus Ambus
    * Rung | Primus (Unicron) 
      * The holomatter avatar of Cybertron who has been projecting for so long that he forgot his true identity. Represents the ultimate state of being for a Transformer.
    * Cyclonus
    * Tailgate
    * Cliffjumper (Bumblebee) 
      * Bee’s first spark, died in the very early stages of the war.



Scenes to Write:

  * Starscream finds Skyfire alone in the Decepticon base, after Prowl has been forcibly removed from his spark chamber. He is in a bad way, his processor unable to even use his internal gyroscope to allow him to sit up, and he is barely keeping his systems on the brink of shutdown. Starscream attempts to find a replacement spark, but none are available, so he resigns to his emotions and puts a blaster to his chest to crack open his sealed spark casing. Skyfire stops him and is able to cut Starscream open carefully while they perform a data transfer. Just prior to forming the bond, Starscream warns Skyfire that it will likely be disturbing when his drone goes offline, so Skyfire agrees to close his eyes until the transfer is over. When he opens them, he and Starscream are one again.
  * After too many years of war, Optimus and Megatron finally have a chance alone together, during which they each admit how crushing the loneliness has been. They fall on each other, and even though Optimus is disgusted by the drone body, he’ll do anything to get closer, _closer_ to Megatron. In the end, he has a brief moment of feeling sated before the loneliness kicks in again, and he realizes that, with the damaged Matrix and Megatron’s commitment to the cause, nothing they do will be able to truly soothe the ache.



**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! I'm also on [Tumblr](https://libermachinae.tumblr.com/) and [Twitter](https://twitter.com/libermachinae)


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